“Neither DBN nor Bank Windhoek would have been able to attain this feat on our own,” said DBN board chairman, Sven Thieme, adding “the progress achieved so far is testimony of the benefit of partnership.”

George Munyukwi and Lizete Elvis of AutoGas Namibia participated in the small business exhibition held recently.

DBN hosted a two-day exhibition for small businesses in conjunction with SMEs Compete and Bank Windhoek recently. Speaking at the opening of the exhibition, the managing director of Bank Windhoek, James Hill said it was encouraging to see an increasing number of SMEs grow into sustainable businesses, creating new wealth and new opportunities for the benefit of the Namibian economy.
“Through this expo we are once again providing a platform for SMEs to interact with corporates and exhibit their products and services to the market,” said Hill.
A total of 43 small business participated, compared to 29 small businesses that participated in last year's exhibition. The businesses included caterers, environmental consulting services, furniture and jewellery designers, printers and tour operators.
The chief executive officer of SMEs Compete, Danny Meyer, ascribed the growing interest to the character of the event.
“The exhibition is niche-market focussed. It is of no benefit for many companies to have the general public see their products. A number of companies that participated in last year’s expo have returned, because they made contacts that translated into business deals,” said Meyer.
The exhibition was officially opened by Prime Minister Nahas Angula.
“We have an alarmingly high unemployment rate that can be addressed through productive endeavour only,” he said. “The future is in small businesses. Namibia comes from a history where the focus was on creating employees, not employers.”